Does HR have an image problem?The majority of business leaders believe human resources will grow in strategic importance because of the critical need for talent management, but only 17% say HR does a good job of demonstrating its value, a KPMG International study says. "At the very least, HR has a perception problem, though in many cases, it may have actually failed to deliver real value," says Robert Bolton of KPMG. Procurement Leaders online (U.K.)
(10/25)

The Ultimate Guide to Employee RecognitionWant to learn how to create a meaningful strategy that will yield higher levels of employee retention and engagement? Read "The Ultimate Guide to Employee Recognition" to learn about the case for employee recognition, how to secure management buy in, how to create a recognition program road map and implement a program.

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Recruiting & Retention

How recruiters can use industry trends to their advantageProfessional recruiters who ignore industry trends risk missing out on opportunities to expand their business, Michael Gionta writes. One emerging strategy is to outsource candidate research. "For $5 to $20 per hour you can have key target names harvested in quantities you can't easily get on your own. This should free you up for more strategic business development, as well as hiring and onboarding more recruiters," Gionta writes. FordyceLetter.com
(10/25)

What Warren Buffett knows about employee engagementWarren Buffett is an example of a leader who has been highly successful yet has remained humble and accessible to workers, Anita Bruzzese writes. It's often such traits and small gestures -- such as greeting employees by name -- that can have the biggest effect on employee engagement and morale, Bruzzese writes. The Fast Track
(10/25)

Benefits & Compensation

Are base-pay raises the best way to increase engagement?Research indicates that the best way to boost retention and engagement is through base-pay raises, but companies should also consider other options, experts say. "A 2% raise doesn't make you get out of bed early in the morning to get to work. The consistent driver of engagement is a better boss, one whom employees say they trust. HR leaders should develop managers who can build trust, and they should encourage senior executives to remove managers who aren't able to do that," said Richard Finnegan, founder of the Retention Institute. Human Resource Executive
(10/25)

Small firms experiment with unlimited-vacation policiesUnlimited vacation time is offered at about 1% of companies, most of them smaller firms, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. Advisory-services firm LRN has seen workers average about three weeks off a year, the same as before unlimited vacation became available, CEO Dov Seidman says. "People are a lot more honest and responsible when they're trusted," Seidman says. The Wall Street Journal
(10/25)

Regulatory & Legal Update

Lawyer warns of risk to businesses from billEmployers would need to make public more information about their communications with lawyers and consultants under a proposed change to the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, lawyer Michael Lotito writes. The law is intended to prevent companies from secretly organizing anti-union campaigns; the change would force companies to disclose their legal counsel unrelated to union campaigns. "The change would make public an astonishing number of the day-to-day private actions of running a business," Lotito writes. The Hill/Congress Blog
(10/19)

The HR Leader

Do you lead or do you just pretend?Leaders can be thought of as the actors of business -- the bad ones are transparently inauthentic, while the best inspire and enrapture, Alan Derek Utley writes. Along with authenticity is the need to receive honest feedback. "For most of us, our reviews aren't likely published for public view. But the best leaders seek out reviews, and don't stop at the ones that are glowing. They find the truth tellers who genuinely want them to be better," Utley writes. LeadChangeGroup.com
(10/25)

Workplace Chatter

Science explores friendship between the sexesResearch has shed new light on the oft-pondered question of whether heterosexual men and women can carry on purely platonic friendships. The answer seems to be no -- at least as far as men are concerned. In a study of undergraduates, men were much more likely to report being attracted to their female friends, and they were also more likely to assume their friends reciprocated those feelings. ScientificAmerican.com
(10/23)